Bard College Bard Digital Commons Senior Projects Spring 2016 Bard Undergraduate Senior Projects Spring 2016 The History and Democratization of Men's Lacrosse Samuel Woodward Funnell Bard College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2016 Part of the Other American Studies Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Funnell, Samuel Woodward, "The History and Democratization of Men's Lacrosse" (2016). Senior Projects Spring 2016. 258. https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2016/258 This Open Access work is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been provided to you by Bard College's Stevenson Library with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this work in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The History and Democratization of Men’s Lacrosse Senior Project Submitted to the Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College by Sam Funnell Annandale-on-Hudson, New York May 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not possibly have completed this project if it were not for the help and support of my family and friends. In addition, I would like to particularly thank my academic advisor, Myra Armstead, for putting up with me and not giving up on this project; Maddie Nye for actually making me work; Timand Bates for giving me academic guidance and advice throughout my time at Bard; and my parents for allowing me to attend Bard and for always being there when I needed help. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1: History of Lacrosse 6 Chapter 2: Growth of the Game 24 Chapter 3: Barriers to the Growth of Lacrosse 48 Chapter 4: The Issue of Race in Lacrosse 58 Conclusion 80 Bibliography 82 Appendix 88 Introduction As I began to think about what I wanted to do for my senior project, I contemplated the things that matter most to me, what my passions are. I toyed with a few different ideas, but I found that I kept procrastinating by reading articles about lacrosse. I would not say that I am obsessed with the sport, but I imagine some of the people around me might very well think so. Looking back, I am not sure why it was not more obvious that my project should be centered around the sport that I love. I have played lacrosse for years but had not thought much about the history and trajectory of the sport. Since I had the chance to help out at a showcase for the Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership foundation this past summer, however, I have been very interested in the growth of lacrosse to this point and the potential for what the sport can become. Growing up, I played many different sports: soccer, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, football, tennis, golf, skiing and even a few games of high school basketball. I played each for a reason and learned important lessons from each. However out of all of these sports, lacrosse holds a special place in my heart. I cannot remember the first time I picked up a lacrosse stick. What I do know is it was not long after I learned to walk and that it was likely handed to me by my dad. My dad grew up in a small town in northwestern Connecticut back when there were no youth lacrosse programs in the area. He got his first taste for the game playing with sticks borrowed from friends’ older siblings at recess before first playing on a team in ninth grade. He went on to play all four years of high school and 2 for one season in college. Not long after they were married, my dad tried to teach my mom how to play lacrosse. To say that this experiment did not go very well would be a drastic understatement. My dad bought her a stick and they went to the park; the first pass he threw her glanced off her stick and hit my mom in the face. My dad swears that she has never picked up a lacrosse stick since then; that was more than twenty-five years ago. Despite this experience, he still wanted to teach the sport he loved to my brother and me. When my brother and I were little, my dad was coaching lacrosse at a prep school in New Hampshire. As a result, we grew up going to practices and games with him and his team until we were old enough to play on teams ourselves. I can still fondly remember travelling on the bus with the team the last weekend of every season for the big rivalry game, feeling the excitement and passion even though I was not playing. The pride in winning, and sometimes the disappointment of losing, were things that we were exposed to at a young age. As I’ve grown older, my relationship to the sport of lacrosse has evolved and taken many different forms. As a child, I enjoyed lacrosse, but ice hockey was my first love. My mom still likes to talk about an assignment I wrote in elementary school about why I liked skating: I wrote that it felt like I was flying. I played on travel teams, represented New Hampshire on state select teams, and was lucky enough to have played with a number of players who have gone on to play professionally. It was not until my sophomore year of high school that my priorities in sports began to shift. That spring, I started at a new high school, and lacrosse was what made me feel welcome--like a part of something. Lacrosse gave me confidence 3 and allowed a quiet kid to make great friends. My team that spring went on to win the state championship, and if I had not been hooked before, I certainly was then. I transferred high schools to play at a higher level, I traveled the East Coast attending camps and tournaments in the summer, and I picked a college because of lacrosse. In my mind, I had made it. I was going to be a Division One lacrosse player just like so many of the players I had grown up watching on the teams my dad coached. Things do not always go according to plan however. Before I even arrived on campus at my chosen school, I got cold feet and changed my mind. I decided to go to a different college, one that played in Division Three rather that Division One. That fall, though, I got hurt and could not practice or play, so I never really felt like I was a part of the team. I did not see eye to eye with the coaches about my injury recovery, so I drifted away from lacrosse. Even though I was not playing, I got the opportunity to begin coaching, an experience that I am extremely grateful for as it made me realize that I missed lacrosse. I made the decision to transfer schools and get a fresh start. This decision led me to Bard. My time here has been rocky, but lacrosse has always been what I have fallen back on. The team has been my support system, and the game my escape. In my time here I have had the honor of being a captain for three seasons, starting every game I played in, and being named to the Liberty League all-league team. I have had the privilege to learn from some great coaches here at Bard, men who have molded me into who I am today, and who have motivated me to become a better player and person. I often think about how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to play lacrosse, how grateful I am to my dad for teaching me the game and to my parents 4 for the sacrifices that have allowed me to continue playing. The sport of lacrosse has given me countless memories, taken me to interesting places, given me priceless opportunities, and introduced me to great people. These are all the things lacrosse has given me; this project is my attempt to give something back to the game of lacrosse. Because the game has meant so much to me, I have been thinking about how to open the game up to more people. I was lucky enough to grow up in an area where lacrosse was popular and where there are youth programs, but in many areas this is not the case. Some of my most rewarding days with the sport of lacrosse have been teaching the game to young players, and these experiences are every bit as valuable as important wins on the field. In many communities, however, there are no players or coaches to introduce lacrosse to young players. Nearly every child in the country has heard of baseball, basketball, and football. On playgrounds, backyards, and streets across America, most of these kids have shot a ball toward a basket, hit a ball with a stick, or yelled “go long” while throwing a football as far as they can. Many of them have never heard of lacrosse, though, and even if they have, they have no opportunity to play. Every sport faces big challenges. For football it is the growing issue of concussions.